Her lips quirk with mischief. “I’ll write dirty poetry and send you naughty drawings.”
Daphne raises a paw. “Send some to me too! Tide me over until your next book comes out.”
Monty snorts a laugh and saunters toward the bar. “I’ll get everyone some drinks.”
Daphne darts after him, leaving me and Edwina momentarily alone.
“I really am happy for you,” I say, framing her shoulders with my hands.
“I know you are. But there’s something I want to say. Or…offer. I want to help pay for Cassie’s education.” At my frown, she rushes to add, “At least a semester. I want to help her, and I won’t take no for an answer unless it’s straight from her.”
My first instinct is to refuse, to tell her she doesn’t need to spend her hard-earned advance on us, just because I lost the contract. But I know her desires aren’t out of a sense of pity or charity. Edwina is no longer an outsider when it comes to me and Cassie. Every day, our relationship grows. Every day, we work to build something of substance. Something that makes Edwina more than a lover.
Someday, whether she opens to the idea of matrimony or we pave our own way as a committed couple, she’s going to be family. Maybe she already is.
I breathe out a shaky sigh. “All right.”
Her expression brightens. “You’re not going to fight me on this?”
“No,” I say, pressing my lips to hers. “You’ve won this round.”
She grins, her eyes crinkling behind her lenses, and I think I just fell in love with her all over again.
“Drinks,” Monty says, setting a tray upon our table. As we settle into the booth, Monty takes his usual glass of water and Daphne predictably reaches for the cordial and a tiny cup. I select a glass of wine while Edwina reaches for a tumbler filled with blue liquid—indigo on the bottom, pastel on the top.
I nearly choke on my wine. “That’s Cloud Dive,” I rush to say.
Edwina pauses, then narrows her eyes at Monty.
He shrugs, leaning back in his seat while taking a long drag of his cigarillo, a crooked smile on his face. “I thought you might want to reminisce. We all had such a good time that first night, didn’t we?”
Edwina casts a longing glance at the libation. “I admit, it was really fun.”
“Just don’t drink more than one,” Monty says. “Switch to regular wine after.”
“Cordial is nice,” Daphne says, raising her little cup.
Edwina looks at me, and the temptation is clear on her face. “I kind of want to try it again. Maybe if I drink in moderation I’ll get a truly brilliant idea for my book this time.”
I level a scowl at her. “Do you never learn? Don’t do it.”
Her grin turns devious. “Doyounever learn, love of mine? Never dare me not to do something.”
“That wasn’t a dare?—”
But already, she’s taken the glass and brought its contents to her lips. In a matter of minutes, she’s chatting incessantly to Daphne, boasting about how brilliant she was at her meeting with Mr. Fletcher.
I cut a lighthearted glare at Monty across the table. “She’s going to be incredibly annoying tonight, thanks to you.”
“Yes,” Monty says with a wink, “but you love her, even when she’s annoying.”
I heave a sigh and angle my body toward my belligerent, mischievous, beautiful beloved. “I really do.”
EPILOGUE
SIX MONTHS LATER
EDWINA
